Gadgetopia

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 to sail with onboard help desk: I worked in a help desk once. Sadly, it wasn’t onboard a cruise ship. I’d have to say, given a choice, I’d much prefer to debug issues from a wireless laptop on the lido deck.

The Queen Mary 2, which is scheduled to make its maiden voyage before the end of 2003, has roughly 150 computers to help manage shipboard systems, process credit card transactions and provide Internet connections for passengers and crew. Since these systems are vital to the ship and passenger satisfaction, Cunard, a division of Carnival Corp. in Miami, decided to install its own onboard help desk.